


A Knight too many

by TechnoLichy



Series: Overwatch: Untold Stories [3]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Sad, uplifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-29 03:20:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7668190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TechnoLichy/pseuds/TechnoLichy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reinhardt faces his greatest fear, retirement.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Knight too many

Reinhardt woke up in pain and stiffness. Holding a riot off stranded civilians all day had taken it’s toll. He rolled out of his bunk in the drop ship quietly and stood stretching his sore muscles. Jack was already awake typing away at his computer. He didn’t envy Jack and would never understand why Reyes did. For every minute in the field Jack spent two hours at his computer station. Always keeping an eye on every Overwatch outpost and all active agents. Writing his reports and reading everything the media said about Overwatch. He’d rather just enjoy an ale with Torbjorn after a long battle.  
“Guten Morgen my friend.” Reinhardt mumbled softly through his hazy sleepiness as he ambled over to the kitchen area where a coffee pot still steamed. He carried it over to Jack’s station and filled his cup.  
“Good morning.” Jack replied without looking up. He picked up the filled cup and raised it towards Reinhardt in gratitude. “Have you heard anything from McRee by any chance?”  
“Not since the Christmas party. Why?”  
“Just a feeling… I haven’t gotten a detailed report from blackwatch in...well...longer than I’d like.” Jack sipped at the coffee sitting back in his chair for the first time in hours. Reinhardt looked at all the screens Jack had open. Half of them were news reports on Overwatch missions and the other was on UN actions against Overwatch.  
“Jack, this job is going to make you grey before me.”  
“Don’t do that to me. I get enough of that from Dr. Ziegler.” Jack said with a chuckle taking a deep draw from his mug.  
“Hmmm yes well, from what I’ve seen you’ve been giving more than you’ve been getting from the good Doctor.” Reinhardt said through a huge conspiratorial grin. Jack spit coffee out all over the table prompting a little drone to come out to clean the table.

“398…..399…..400!” Reinhardt counted off as he bench pressed all of the weights in the drop ship. Overwatch troopers had gathered around him cheering and whistling. As he hit 400 he put the bar on the catch, stood and roared flexing his upper body. “Honor and Glory!”  
“ALERT ALERT, VIOLENCE DETECTED IN CITY CENTRAL” Athena said firmly through the speakers as alarms and klaxons sounded.  
“You heard the lady! Grab your gear and get mobile!” Jack yelled from the command center.

Reinhardt stood at the front of the unit with his shield raised. Molotovs and bricks bounced off it harmlessly and marksmen with stun rounds incapacitated the attackers through it. Medics and engineers treated wounded civilians and Omnics behind the line of Overwatch troops. Jack had taken half the squad to reinforce the local police.  
There were fires in every trashcan he could see. Looters smashed any store fronts not protected by energy barriers and had flipped every car in the street. Reinhardt carried a stun rod instead of his usual hammer. The Stun rod was mainly for show, making loud cracking noises as electricity arced through it. He touched it to the shield every once in awhile which served two purposes. It charged the shield without lowering it, and it created a loud crack and flash of light that scared off anyone trying to get too close.  
“Sir!” a young trooper named Lewis shouted. “We’re running out of stun rounds and we don’t have enough stun rods for everyone. We can’t stay here!”  
“We can! And we must! Hold your ground!” Reinhardt shouted back to Lewis, more confidence in his voice than he felt. Muting his external speakers he opened a channel to Morrison. “Commander, things are getting ugly over here. We could use some reinforcements!” a long pause over the channel.  
“These cops are shooting everything that moves, we can’t abandon our post or the cops will kill more than the rioters! I set a beacon for any agents nearby, hold as long as you can, if it gets too dangerous get out of there and join us at the police station!”  
“Understood!” closing the channel he looked back at the crowd. They were normal people from all walks of life. Clerks, mechanics, janitors, doctors, parents, children. The only thing that united them was fear. Fear of the Omnics and the unknown. He couldn’t fault them for that.  
“Please! Everyone! End this violence! This accomplishes nothing!” Reinhardt shouted at the top of his lungs through his voice amplifier. “Go home!” Before the echos of his voice cleared through the streets an explosion rocked him off his feet. And the last thing he remembered was hitting his head on a curb. 

He woke in agony. He felt dizzy and nauseous but fought to his feet. He tried to walk but couldn’t and fell to his knee. His vision blurred but he saw the blue of Lewis’ uniform.  
“Lewis…” he croaked rolling the young man over. He shook lewis shoulder barely seeing him. He touched his helmet and felt the deep dent in it. He pulled it off feeling it scrape his face and the back of his head. When it clanged to the ground his vision cleared enough to see it. The helmet was charred black on the outside and covered in blood on the inside. That wasn’t good. He coughed to clear his throat.  
“Lewis! We need to move!” Reinhardt shook the man one more time before his vision cleared enough to see the broken and burnt remains of the man he fought beside so many times. He looked around and saw fire everywhere he looked. All of the medics, all the troopers, they were all dead. Almost unrecognizable as people.  
Reinhardt fell to a sitting position and his head spun. He lay down and closed his eyes tightly. Were his ears always ringing? Now it feels like they’ve been ringing forever. Before he realized what was happening unconsciousness took him.

This time he awoke in a hospital. He turned his head and felt the world swim around him. He closed his eyes and waited until the dizziness dissipated. He words written on the wall were written in German. He was home.  
“Wilhelm?” He heard from his other side. Turning his head very slowly he looked at the person who had spoken. He could barely make her out. She sat in a visitor’s chair next to his bed.  
“Is that you Angela?” He felt her cold hand press into his palm and tried to squeeze it back but felt no strength in his hand.  
“It’s me. You’ve been in a coma for about a week. ”  
“...The rest of the men?”  
“....A few of the medics pulled through.” she said very softly. Reinhardt clenched his face and could not speak for minutes.  
“What happened?” he finally said.  
“Jack wanted to debrief you but….it was a small bomb… we don’t know who set it…. But it set off a large fuel tank on the other side of the wall and….” She sighed, putting a second hand on his. “Reinhardt you….you took a serious hit to your head.”  
“I can tell, how long until it heals?”  
“I....I’m not sure. You fractured your skull...it’s always….well...it’s not certain how much you’ll be able to recover.”  
“Are you saying that I will never heal?”  
“I’m saying….” she said as her voice cracked. He could barely see the light reflecting on the tears running down her cheek. “I’m saying that that’s a possibility. We just don’t know. Even if you do recover function...it’s very unlikely you’ll ever be combat ready….I’m sorry...I know how much it means to you...” He stared at her while she continued speaking but he didn’t hear anything else she said. 

Three months later Reinhardt walked into the Swiss Overwatch base. He was aided by a pair of crutches but he felt like they were more precautionary than necessary. He walked in and everyone there treated him…. Gently. Like he was broken. He tried not to show annoyance on his face as he marched to Jack’s office but he didn’t think he was successful.  
When he entered the room it was alive with movement seemingly oblivious to his presence. Jack had four aides vying for his attention, each with their own world ending news or dire warnings. Dozens of screens showed anything from maps and helmet cameras to the daily news and another televised hearing from the UN.  
He was surprised to see Torbjorn testifying, and felt slightly slighted that his friend hadn’t told him he was going. He sat at Jack’s desk and laid the crutches on the floor. He watched Jack calmly deal with each of his aides until they had left his office and it was just the two of them.  
“You’ve been keeping busy I see.” Reinhardt said. Jack finally turned away from the monitors and noticed the large German sitting in his chair. He smiled softly.  
“And I see you’ve escaped from the hospital. Does Angela know?”  
“Do you think I’d be here if she did?” He laughed and reached into Jack’s desk to find a bottle of fine American Whiskey. “Care for a drink? It’s on the house!”  
“Sure, I could use it.” Reinhardt poured into two glasses and the two drank slowly and enjoyed the burn and flavor. “I’ve got to tell you something Wilhelm." "What is it my friend?" "You’re going to hate me for it.”  
Reinhardt’s blood ran cold, he had an idea of what he was going to say. Not this. Not now.  
“I’m taking you off active duty.” Jack said unable to look his friend in the eye. “I know you’ve been exceeding all expectations in physical therapy but…”  
“Don’t put me out to pasture Jack. You know I have plenty of fight in me! I can’t stop now!” Reinhardt stood forgetting all about his crutches. “This organization, NO. This CAUSE is everything to me!” Jack set down his glass and stood up too. Reinhardt’s vision blurred with tears and could see that Jack’s eyes had gone glassy as well.  
“Wilhelm...you’re in your late fifties, you’ve been active duty for more than 30 years…”  
“I know how long I’ve been fighting! Do you think I’m senile?” Reinhardt began to shout. “I’ve given my life to this cause! I've given everything I am!”  
“No you haven’t!” Jack barked back with a ferocity that took Reinhardt back. Jack wasn’t a quiet man by any stretch of imagination but he never screamed at people. Not like this. “But you almost did. And I couldn’t stop it.” He walked around the desk and put his hands on Reinhardt’s arms. “You’ve been doing this as long as some of our troopers have been alive. You are a tremendous friend and you’re the greatest hero I’ll ever serve with. But you can’t do this anymore, I can’t let you get hurt again…..I’m sorry.”  
The fire in Reinhardt’s chest died as suddenly as it had come and he sat down heavily. “What if…. What if Angela clears me?”  
“She won’t.” He said bluntly, looking away again. “I’ve had the best neurologists money can buy study every scan and test they can do on you. They all say the same thing.”  
“What do they say?”  
“Another concussion will kill you.” There was a heavy silence between the two and the moment extended on for what felt like hours. Reinhardt’s mind blanked, unable to process this. His strength and courage were what made him who he was. Who was he if he couldn’t be that man anymore?  
“I guess there’s nothing else to say.” Reinhardt said at last. Jack sat on the edge of his desk and covered his eyes. The silence returned and Reinhardt tried to think of something that could change what was happening and couldn’t. The best he could do was maintain his honor.  
“I did everything I could to-”  
“I know you did Jack.” Reinhardt stood again and wrapped his heavy arms around his captain. “You’re a good man.”  
“You can stay on as an instructor or… you don’t have to leave Overwatch.”  
“Yes I do.” Reinhardt said releasing the bear hug and standing at his full height. “I shall find a new path.” he stepped back and saluted. Jack stood straight and returned it tears in his eyes. ”It’s been an honor, my friend.” And with that he turned and walked out of the base. No longer a member of Overwatch. No longer a champion of justice. No longer a warrior with glory. No longer a man with purpose.

Jack watched him leave. He stood rigid as a stone for a long while after his friend left his office. It wasn’t until he sat in his chair and poured himself another drink that he noticed Reinhardt had forgotten his crutches. He looked at the door Reinhardt had walked through and remembered how sure his steps were. 

Reinhardt walked all the way to the parking lot where his rented car waited and saw the large truck Overwatch had used to transport his armor around on the ground. He decided he wanted to see it one last time and walked to the large door at the rear. With trepidation he slowly reached out and tried the handle. Finding it locked broke his heart a little and he thought, maybe this is for the best. He walked around the side and saw….the keys...dangling in the truck's door lock. Surely this was a mistake.  
He looked around sure that someone from the motor pool would be coming to move it but no one came… An idea occurred to him. A crazy idea.

“Sir? There’s an asset missing?”  
“Oh?” Jack said to the aide who had entered his office without knocking.  
“Yessir, a vehicle containing a suit of "Crusader" armor. It was logged here as being turned in but it’s not on the lot and the tracking beacon was turned in anonymously.”  
“I recall marking that vehicle as salvage. Must have been collected and melted down.” Jack spun away from the aide and smiled. “Make sure that it’s marked decommissioned on the log. It's gone now.” 

Reinhardt didn’t stop driving until he made it back to Germany. Looking over his shoulder every minute expecting to see police. When he was close to his hometown he pulled over on the side of the road and used the keys to get into the back. Once inside he saw the case his armor always sat in. A horrifying thought occurred to him, maybe the case was empty. Why wouldn’t it be? It’s not like he was around for them to keep it together. And even if it was there, it was ruined. He'd see the pictures, talked to the medics who'd cut him out of it. What good was it. He'd just committed countless crimes for a heap of scrap and he didn't even check to see if he even had it.

He opened the lid to the armor's case to see there was a sheet of foam covering the entire inside of the box. On the foam, held in place with duct tape covered in Swedish flags was an envelope. It was addressed to him and it’s handwriting was clearly Torbjorn’s. He slowly opened it and took out the post card. It had on one side a massive stone castle and on the other a message.

Reinhardt, 

Jack told me that you weren’t coming back to active duty a month before I was to testify before the UN. I wish I could’ve seen you before I went but I had orders to fix your armor. I fixed it up as nice as it can be, I even built you a new helmet that will better protect that big German melon of yours. I couldn’t think of why he’d want me to fix your armor when you won’t be around to use it but I’m guessing he figured that you’d get your hands on it somehow.  
I don’t know when it will be but when I see you next, the first ale is on me. And remember you may not be an Overwatch agent anymore. But you embody it’s ideals. One day you might not be able to fight but until then, you will serve the purpose you’ve fought for your whole life. And we will be fighting with you, to make this world a better place.

Torbjorn.

Tears streaked down Reinhardt’s smiling face as he read the card. When he was finished he put the letter in one of the drawer he’d reserved for his personal effects. It still contained everything it had before he was hospitalized, waiting for him to return. He pulled the foam away from the case and revealed his armor, whole and pristine. It's polished metal gleamed under the cabin lights and Reinhardt knew it would continue to serve as a beacon for hope and justice as long as it had someone to wear it. 

"I will fight my friend, until my last dying breath!" he stood tall and proud. "For Honor and Glory!"


End file.
